On average, a child in America gets their first phone at age ten. Having a phone that early in life does damage to a number of things in a child’s brain and body. Having a smartphone gives them access to harmful things such as social media, video games, endless amounts of entertainment and toxic radiation that smartphones give off. That is why children should receive a smartphone at age fourteen and no earlier.

Social media is one of the biggest problems today. Fifty-one percent of children get a social media account before age eleven. Social media has proven to be very bad for a child’s self image and self esteem development. Young people are much more susceptible to judgments made by themselves and others online than a older person. They compare themselves to unrealistic standards and view themselves as less than the perfect instagram models. This leads to low self worth which can make children socially awkward and even depressed. That is why children should not have access to this kind of media until they are more developed and able to handle these judgments. Having a phone doesn’t only give them access to social media but also other harmful types of media.

Video games and endless amounts of entertainment are numbing children's brains and making them unable to focus and stay interested in everyday life. When a child plays a video game, their stress hormone, dopamine levels, and adrenaline levels rise, shutting down the blood flow to the rest of the body. The brain then switches to primitive survival mechanisms. The blood in their body goes away from the organs and towards their limbs and heart so they are ready to “fight or escape”. This means that the child's body is put on pause which is very bad for the immune system, digestive system and the brain. Then when the videos games are taken away the child becomes hostile from the adrenaline rush and the addictive qualities of the game makes them even more restless.  This is obviously unhealthy for a child with an easily influenced brained. Phones give children unlimited choices of entertainment that are harming their bodies and programming their minds. This is a very serious issue but it’s not the only reason why young children shouldn't have smartphones.

Another reason why children shouldn’t have phone is because they give off radiofrequency radiation and electromagnetic radiation. Many studies such as Lennart Hardell from University Hospital in Orebro, have proven to interfere with natural brainwaves. The brain gets distracted by the radio waves making children unable to focus, unable to remember and in some cases the radiation leads to cancer. Giving a child a cell phone is like giving them a bomb that could explode at any minute. When they are a little bit older they can understand the danger and how to prevent it while using the phones responsibly.

The current obsession with smartphones continues to take its toll on everyone, especially the younger generation. Social media, video games, and radiation from the phones stunt the children's growth mentally and physically and can sometimes even to fatal. It should not be normal for children to get phones so early in age. That is why children should be at least the age of fourteen before receiving a smartphone so they can learn how to use it responsibly.